Federal officials push for cleanup of sewage-laden Chicago River

May 23, 2011|By Lisa Black, Tribune reporter

A kayaker paddles beside a half-sunken boat on the north branch of the Chicago River. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., announced their bipartisan support for the federal Environmental Protection Agency's demand for improved water-quality standards for the river. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)

The weather was nice for a boat ride Sunday on the Chicago River, but the wafting stench of sewage provided an appropriate backdrop for the message of the politicians on board.

U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., announced their bipartisan support for the federal Environmental Protection Agency's demand for improved water-quality standards for the river, beginning with disinfecting wastewater that is regularly released into the waterway.

"Chicago is the last city in America that has not tackled this situation," Durbin said at a news conference at the North Branch Pumping Station on the city's Northwest Side, following the boat ride. "Come on, we can do better."

He cited state estimates that more than 70 percent of the water in the Chicago River is partially treated sewage.

No one argued with that figure. Supporters in attendance included Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; Susan Hedman, the federal EPA's regional administrator; U.S. Rep. Michael Quigley; and two members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's elected board, Debra Shore and Michael Alvarez.

The river "is a great treasure," Quigley said. "We shouldn't use it as a toilet. Safe water and clean air have to be at the top of our priorities."

Officials addressed confusion over cost estimates of a cleanup, which have varied widely depending on the source. The EPA has estimated it would cost up to $72 million to disinfect wastewater discharged into the waterways from the Calumet and North Side treatment plants. The water district has predicted it would cost at least $1 billion, a number that federal officials say is inflated.

Kirk cited an earlier EPA estimate of $242 million, based on an agency-funded study that calculated the cost to clean up three treatment plants, not two. In its recent order, the EPA cut the estimated cleanup costs by leaving out the massive Stickney sewage plant along the Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is rarely used for recreation.

Spending money to clean up the river, Kirk said, would spur economic benefits through increased tourism and added public safety.

"I would like to see the federal government help," he said, conceding that Congress likely won't approve more money for the cleanup this year. "I am in favor of setting this as a goal. "

He suggested that the water district's $1 billion estimate included many nonessential steps to meet the water-quality standards ordered by federal officials.

Terrence O'Brien, president of the water district board and chief critic of the EPA's order, did not participate in the boat ride or news conference.